Office Storage: Smart Ways to Optimise It
Since the vast majority of people spend a large portion of their adult lives working, it becomes quite clear why office spaces should be neatly decorated and well-organized. Constantly having to wade through piles of various clutter can significantly hinder one’s productivity and motivation. That’s why every employer should aim at finding the best storage solutions for their office space and organize everything neatly.
Managing to find the right storage solutions can be somewhat tricky, however, and being able to organize and optimize everything can prove to be somewhat challenging. That’s why we’ve prepared a list of some interesting ideas you can optimize your office’s storage and create a functioning system that everyone can benefit from. Take a look.
Try to go paperless
The first step towards a cleaner and more organized office space is certainly trying to go paperless as much as possible. Not only do paper copies of files create a visual mess – especially when not stored properly – but they also harbour dust, reducing in-office air quality by filling it with various allergens. Therefore, file away important papers you simply cannot have be misplaced, such as signed contracts, cheques and similar documents. Anything else that’s lying around your office in paper form you should simply scan – to create a digital copy – and shred or recycle some other way.
Create an activity centre
Next, you should create an activity centre in your office, especially if there’s a certain activity you perform frequently throughout your workday. For instance, if you are constantly reaching for a stapler or paper clips but you don’t have them organized at arm’s reach, you’ll be wasting a lot of time trying to find them. So, instead, you should organize all of the office tools you reach for regularly in one area, so that you know exactly where everything is the next time you need to use it.
Implement smart storage solutions
Furthermore, depending on the type of office, you will also have to add storage solutions so that you have a place to store all of the things you’re not using in your day-to-day, but that you still need to keep. So, the office storage solutions you choose to go with will depend on the line of business you’re in and the type of things you need to store away. Aside from that, you should organize your desk drawers as well by using drawer dividers and organizers, and you should also see to it that every type of document that’s still in the physical form has its rightful folder.
Label everything
A well-organized storing system wouldn’t really be possible without labels. Sure, you will have all of your files neatly organized in folders – maybe even colour coordinated – but there really is no way or need to try and remember what’s inside each folder. Instead, invest in a practical label maker and label all of your files properly so that you can find what you’re looking for quickly and easily.
Declutter on a weekly basis
Aside from trying to keep your office neat, depending on the line of business you’re in, you should try to declutter your office on a weekly basis. Instead of waiting for the pile of files to become overwhelming and risking to lose something important in the process, you should see to it that at the end of every week, you go through everything that’s piled up during the week and organize it. File away everything you need to keep, scan the files you don’t need in physical form and recycle the things you don’t need.
Archive old files
Some business documents, while still important, you simply don’t have to keep after some time. Put differently, they are still important to you as a business owner, but they bear no other relevance. These files you can either store away in your business’s archive or you can simply scan them and upload them to the cloud. The same goes for business emails you are no longer required to keep.
When organizing your office space, pay special attention to storage. A well-optimized storage system will mean a world of difference for both your business and your employees, to make sure that you do it right.